Were Glamour Boys sacrificed?

to an explosive diplomatic crisis that erupted in Egypt 24 hours earlier, when they crashed out of the Champions League in controversial circumstances here on Sunday night.
An Algerian journalist told the Glamour Boys’ delegation yesterday that the complexion of their Champions League tie against MC Alger changed dramatically following the rioting in Cairo on Saturday during a tie between Zamalek and Club Africain of Tunisia.
The stormy Champions League, first round, second leg tie between Zamalek and Club Africain was abandoned after fans invaded the pitch in Cairo following the decision by an Algerian referee to disallow a third goal scored by the Egyptian giants.
Zamalek, trailing 2-4 from the first leg in Tunis, led 2-1 at home and appeared to have grabbed a decisive third goal, which would have been good enough to take them through to the next round on the away goals rule.
But the Algerian referee disallowed that effort, torching a pitch invasion and the subsequent abandonment of the game, while also re-opening old wounds inflicted by the ugly 2010 World Cup qualifier between Algeria and Egypt.
Egyptian players were attacked in Algiers and the Pharaohs’ fans turned on the Desert Foxes’ players when they arrived for the reverse fixture in Cairo, with their bus being attacked.
The two North African giants had to play an elimination match, in Sudan, after the two ill-tempered legs failed to separate them.
When an Algerian referee handled a match, which ended in pandemonium in Cairo on Saturday, and was attacked in the pandemonium that followed, pressure was inevitably heaped on the Egyptian referee handling the Dynamos game in Algiers on Sunday.
There were reports before the game between Dynamos and MC Alger that Algerian youths were ready to attack Egyptian referee Fahim Omar, should the Algerians lose, in retaliation for the attack on their referee in Cairo 24 hours earlier.
That Egyptian Prime Minister, Essam Sharaf, even issued an apology to the Algerians, a few hours before DeMbare went onto the field, also indicated the level of pressure that was exerted on Omar not to antagonise the frosty relationship between Egypt and Algeria any further.
“A Dynamos win could have triggered riots as temperatures were already running high after what happened in Cairo,” a journalist with El Watan newspaper said.
“Something needed to be done quickly and having Omar handling the match between MC Alger and Dynamos fitted the bill perfectly.
“It’s wrong but I believe authorities in your country would have done the same in similar circumstances. MC Alger scored only one legitimate goal, which is the third one. The first one was offside while the penalty was non-existent but it had to happen that way for the sake of peace. You guys must also be thankful, albeit in a funny way. Just take a minute to imagine what would have happened to your players had they managed to hold on and get a result.
“It’s clear that some of you would have gone back to Harare with scars or lifeless.”
Dynamos’ delegation leader Brian Chishanga, a Zifa Councillor, said he will include all the suspicious trends he noted before, during and after the match, in his official report to be handed to the association.
There were reports yesterday that the Egyptian referee could have been paid US$5 000.
“What we heard in the street could just be a romour but I believe it is important for us to note it in our report as it is in sync with our suspicion that some underhand dealings influenced the match between MC Alger and Dynamos,” said Chishanga.
An MC Alger spokesman rubbished the match-fixing claims being raised by Dynamos officials and some supporters of his team’s local league rivals.
“You scored four in Zimbabwe in a game that had a South African referee and we never made such accusations,” he said.
“Now we score three, one less than you, at home in a match an Egyptian was officiating and you make such silly claims?
“You should learn to accept defeat.”
Meanwhile, DeMbare say they are not in any shape to fulfil their league match against FC Platinum at Rufaro tomorrow.
The Harare giants are only expected back home this afternoon.